Electric Sheep
by Assuming Direct Control
Summary: One shot story about Legion's feelings for Tali, which he discusses with EDI in a bid to further understand relationships between organics and artificial life forms.


**Electric Sheep**

Legion's body armour and electrical system were not perceptive to touch. Bullets could pierce him and cause minor short circuits, akin to the organic sensation of pain riding rapidly through nerve endings to the brain. But a kiss, the touch of another's hand… the very _idea _of a tingle; it was alien to him. To his entire species.

Tali approached him from behind as he worked at his terminal in the Normandy's War Room. Her hand slithered around the thick black wire of his spine and hugged his N7 chest plate. Her delicate fingers toyed with the buckshot bullethole the lived where an organic's heart would be. He felt it. This gentle brush, the softest trace of contact. The sensation of it shot through Legion with the wild, crashing force of a broken dam. He turned into her embrace as her hand slipped down to the insulated wire structure at his hips.

"Creator Zorah," he said.

She held a quieting finger to her induction port, then moved it through the air to his auditory speaker system. The movement frothed a new emotion to Legion's motherboard; he found it alluring.

"Don't say a thing. Just enjoy it," she said.

Her hand travelled back from Legion and unclipped her visor. There was a familiarity to her face. There were still memories in his consensus of the quarian race without their envirosuits. Tali Zorah was the most beautiful quarian he had ever seen. His memory was the combined memory of all his ancestors. Tali Zorah was the most beautiful quarian ever.

She kissed the side of his face… and Legion woke up. Though as an artificial form of life he required no 'sleep', he would often power down at night. This was both to conserve power and to integrate himself more with his organic squadmates. But he never dreamt. He would shut down, then eight hours later he would boot up, with no awareness of time having passed. Still shaken from the revelation that he had _imagined_, he walked to the cockpit. Like himself, EDI did not require sleep, and so flew the Normandy solo while Joker slept in a nearby foldout bed.

"May we ask a question, EDI?" Legion said.

EDI stood from her pilot seat and stood face to face with Legion.

"Of course, Legion."

Joker stirred in bed, eyes flickering open. He sat up with a start when he saw the vacant pilot seat.

"Er… who's flying the ship?" he said in a sleepy panic.

"I am. My external systems still pilot while my mobile platform carries out other functions. I have found the team find it more comfortable when I talk to them face to face, rather than through my various portals on the Normandy."

"Well, I'm awake now," Joker said, climbing into his chair.

"Perhaps we should return at a more convenient time," Legion said.

"Don't go on my account buddy. Bet all these windows make a change from your geth ships, huh?" Joker said.

Legion ignored him and got to the purpose of his visit.

"EDI, do you ever dream?" Legion said.

"I do not sleep. Even if this platform deactivates, my consciousness survives in the ship," she said.

"We see," Legion said.

He turned and walked away.

"Whoa! Wait there! Did you have a dream, Legion?" Joker shouted after him.

"We believe so, yes."

"What about?" Joker said.

"Creator Zorah."

"Tali? Was this a _sex _dream, Legion?" Joker asked with a laugh.

"We are not familiar with this term."

"You know, were you like a couple in this dream," Joker said.

"She kissed me. I enjoyed it, though I did not realize I was capable of that emotion."

"Go Legion!"

Joker held up his hand for Legion to highfive. It remained hanging in the air until Joker lowered it.

"We are afraid such a dream may be damaging to the current friendship with Tali Zorah. She might even hate me for envisioning such a scenario," Legion said.

"Sex dreams are common Legion, and mostly meaningless. Don't worry about it," Joker said.

"How often do _you _dream of sexual encounters with other women, Jeff?" EDI said with crossed arms.

"What? Oh, no, never. Only with you, EDI."

"And yet your heart rate and body temperature increase rapidly around whenever Miranda Lawson is present. I do not like it when you spend time with her."

"Miran… what? No, EDI I-"

"Thank you for your assistance," Legion said, and left.

On his way back to his war room terminal, he saw Tali talking to Specialist Traynor by the CIC and waved.

"Hi Legion," she said.

"Hello, Tali Zorah."

He walked away from her and felt another new emotion. It was sadness.


End file.
